by Sean Pratt | Jul 1, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, There’s one moment in the hysterical “All of Me” (1984) directed by the late Carl Reiner that is absolutely jaw-dropping. You have to see it for yourself. I beg to wonder if it’s not one of the best sequences in a comedy. Steve Martin is on a sidewalk...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 30, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, I love a feel-good movie as much as anybody – but I prefer them to be nutritious. Let’s say I want my escapism to make me think as well as feel. Gurinder Chada’s exceptionally pleasing “Bend it Like Beckham” checks all the marks. It was that rare...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 29, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, If you’re like me, attempting to stay optimistic and counting your blessings – any bit of positive news helps. Lo and behold I sat down to watch “The Vast of Night” this Saturday night – purely for distraction – and I got this rush of excitement –...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 28, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Today marks the anniversary of the Stonewall riots that took place in 1969. They are viewed as the catalyst for the gay liberation movement in the US and the world. Consequently, I sat to watch “Sunday Bloody Sunday” last night. Director John...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 27, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear SBIFF Family, For this week’s Family Fun Film we learn about inner-strength and honor in Mulan. With the activity guide in hand, watch Mulan take hold of her destiny as she risks everything to bring honor to her family and become one of the greatest warriors...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 26, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, I was feeling a bit down last night. All the despairing news had gotten the best of me. So luckily, I decided to watch Stephan Elliott’s “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” – which I hadn’t seen since it was released in 1994. This...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 25, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, It’s been 15 years since the release of “Brokeback Mountain.” It’s one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking romances I’ve seen. Just like Romeo and Juliet – and Jack and Rose – Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist are star-crossed lovers. Instead of...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 24, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “The Handmaiden” (2016) is a lush and erotic thriller from Korea – that deals with colonialism and its relationship to pornography and feminism. Did I catch your attention? We’re talking high art here – but yes the film is titillating and shocking at...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 23, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Recently I polled my colleagues at work about whether they knew the secret in “The Crying Game,” and I was surprised to find out how many of them had not seen this haunting film released in 1992. And because of that fact, I will not reveal it – for I...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 22, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, 25 years ago, I couldn’t appreciate “Philadelphia.” I’d had too many close friends of mine die of AIDS – and there was so much homophobia and misinformation. As I watched the film, I appreciated the effort yet I had been wanting so much more. I was...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 21, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Sydney Poitier became the first African American to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1964 for “Lilies of the Field.” It is one of the gentlest movies I’ve seen in a long time – and I mean that in the best possible way. The film – simple...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 20, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Hello SBIFF Family, Fellow Voyagers, time to journey beyond the reef in this week’s Family Fun Film Moana. Explore our activity guide and sail along with Moana as she ventures across the ocean to find the demigod Maui and help save her people by returning the...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 19, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “Slavery is an evil that should befall none,” is spoken by Solomon Northup – the main character in the powerful “12 Years a Slave.” Last night, on the eve of Juneteenth – the national commemoration of the official ending of slavery in the United...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 18, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “This land that would never be theirs. They worked until they sweated. They sweated until they bled. They bled until they died. Died with the dirt of this same 200 acres under their fingernails. Died clawing at the hard, brown back that would never be...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 17, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “If you want to talk about guns, why is it that there’s a gun shop on almost every corner in this community? I’ll tell you why. For the same reason that there’s a liquor store on almost every corner in the black community. Why? They want us to kill...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 17, 2020 | General
by Sean Pratt | Jun 16, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, In 1987, comedian Robert Townsend wrote, directed and acted in a satire of African American stereotypes in cinema with “Hollywood Shuffle.” There’s a sting to the spoof. Starting in the silent film era, Hollywood portrayed blacks in insensitive ways...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 15, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Loving v. Virginia was the landmark civil rights decision by the US Supreme Court which struck down all anti-miscegenation laws remaining in sixteen US states on June 12, 1967. The case involved Mildred Loving – a woman of color – and her white...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 14, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, In the 1950s, Douglas Sirk made films for Hollywood that were great commercial successes but were dismissed by critics because they were considered flimsy melodramas that were geared towards women – they were thought of as “women’s pictures.” With...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 13, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear SBIFF Family, Gather the family and sit your furry tails down to learn from the most carefree duo about the HAKUNA MATATA Life in this week’s family fun film The Lion King! Along with our educational thought-provoking activity guide, follow the adventures...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 12, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “DA 5 BLOODS” – which starts playing on Netflix today – is the best movie of 2020, and it is as incendiary, funny, exhilarating and mad – as it is artistically superb and rich. It demands immediate viewing and repeated viewings...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 11, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “Black Girl” is an exemplary classic from 1966 that deserves our attention. Directed by Ousmane Sembène, it is considered the first major film produced by an African filmmaker. The film won the prestigious Jean Vigo for its artistic originality....
by Sean Pratt | Jun 10, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, The bold and powerful film “The Hate U Give” begins with a startling scene. A black family is having “The Talk.” For white families, “the talk” is the rite of passage discussion about the birds and the bees, but for black families is how to behave if...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 9, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “I choose to reflect the times and the situations in which I find myself. That to me is my duty and at this crucial time in our lives, when everything is so desperate, when every day is a matter of survival, I can’t help but be involved. Young people,...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 8, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “The Last Black Man In San Francisco” (2019) is a remarkable film that deserves your attention. It’s one of the richest experiences I’ve had watching a film in a while. There’s something exhilarating in seeing something new in cinema, and director Joe...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 7, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “In the Heat of the Night” (1967) is still a dazzling and powerful movie that is as pertinent and imperative as ever. The movie is a thriller about a murder in a small town in Mississippi – that forces a black detective from Philadelphia to join...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 6, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear SBIFF Family, There’s magic in the air! And fun! Have a ball with this week’s family fun film The Princess and The Frog. Dream big with Tiana then learn trivia, bake yummy themed cookies, and get crafty with our activity guide. “If you do your...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 5, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, If you were my student, I’d require you right away to see the documentary “I Am Not Your Negro” (2017). This is one of the most urgent and timely films I have seen. Using James Baldwin’s writings, “I Am Not Your Negro” guides us through black history...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 4, 2020 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “Moonlight” is the best movie released in the past ten years. I have loved this movie since the moment I saw it at the Telluride Film Festival in 2014. I have taught it every semester since. Last night, I sat and watched it again for during trying...
by Sean Pratt | Jun 3, 2020 | General
